Ontario Construction News staff writer
The Ontario government has contracted AECOM as engineering consultant to complete a preliminary design and class environmental assessment update study for widening of Highway 6 South in Hamilton.
A four-lane highway link to the Hamilton airport was originally designed and received environment assessment approval in the late 1980s. The existing two-lane road was built in 2003. This project will add two lanes over a nine-kilometre stretch from Highway 403 and Upper James Street.
“Four-laning this corridor will improve the movement of people and goods, while serving the national, regional and local economies,” said Caroline Mulroney, minister of transportation.
Highway 6 from Highway 403 to Upper James Street is the primary connection from John Munro Hamilton International Airport to the Greater Golden Horseshoe via Highway 403.
The study will include outreach to Indigenous communities, municipalities, and stakeholders including the airport and business owners, and will commence in spring 2022, with a targeted completion of spring 2024.
“The widening of Highway 6 from two lanes to four is vital to the continued growth of the John Munro Hamilton International Airport and the surrounding areas,” said Donna Skelly, MPP Flamborough-Glanbrook. “This is an important step forward in our work to ensure the safe, efficient movement of people and goods here in Hamilton and across the region.”
Construction on Highway 6 from Highway 403 to Upper James was included in the 2021 Ontario Budget, as a key highway expansion investment project and the province has allocated more than $21 billion in funding over the next 10 years, including approximately $2.6 billion in 2021–22, to expand and repair highways and bridges.